Greetings from Merry ole England. See, cause that’s where I am right now. In London. Eating Cornettos. As I went through customs, I noticed that approximately 10% of all Americans were wearing shirts that said things like Boston, or Lafayette Junior High Ice Skating, or similar signifiers. There’s something strangely defensive about entering a foreign country wearing a shirt suggesting where you are from. Though there was one girl who wore a London shirt, which is sort of like wearing a band’s t-shirt to their concert, isn’t it?

YOU CAN’T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT

So the man with the whip and fedora is back, and this time he comes with a colostomy bag (sorry Eileen). Here is a case where – as I’ve said before – whatever the audience thinks has no reflection on the numbers. As was witnessed numerous times on the board, and in conversations had after people saw the film, “I don’t care what anyone says, I’ll make up my own mind about it” is going to be the fan’s lament until they see it for themselves. Hopefully they didn’t buy too many advanced tickets. This is fair; it’s not like the goodwill for Indy has been pissed away with – say – a prequel trilogy (the TV show is generally considered a step above fan-fic). And – as with the gap between the last Rocky and Rambo films – in the interim the audience has time to remember what they loved about the project and forget what they didn’t. There is still trememndous goodwill for 90% of everyone involved.

But Indy is anamolous. There’s not much left but the Lord of the Rings follow-ups that can be plundered as successfully. The cost-to-profit ratio on continuing the Matrix or Pirates films seems cost prohibitive on top of being absurd considering the audience for both seem spent. Jurassic Park IV has been struggling to get going for half a decade at this point. Toy Story III is coming, there’s that, but there’s no sense of a clamoring for it (more than likely, it’s in the works to help guarantee Pixar’s autonomy). But this summer should see the start of a number of franchises, with Iron Man looking strong for at least three, and if The Dark Knight is recieved well enough, we may get a trilogy from Nolan. If Hellboy is the surprise hit of the summer, then it’s quite possible Del Toro will return to it when he’s done with the Hobbits (then again, after that he can likely do whatever the fuck he wants), and it appears that Will Smith has set up his own superhero franchise with Hancock. After that, Shrek 4 and Night at the Museum are the most prominent franchise films.

Of course, there’s that pesky possibility that Shia’s character from The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull might become its own thing, but that would likely be under Lucas’s wings, not Spielberg’s, and as such – and with Shia already dealing with Transformers as his franchise (and I’m shocked that they’re not planning to do two back to back) – I doubt he would be as inclined to return, unless his career goes south. Right now, that doesn’t seem likely, but you never know how desperate things can get. Or – that is to say – we may yet see Bryan Singer’s follow-up to Superman Returns. But I wouldn’t count on it.

YOU STOOD UP TO PREDICTED WITH THE ENEMIES OF EVERYTHING THE GRAIL STANDS FOR, WHO GIVES A DAMN WHAT YOU PREDICT?

Last Year Pirates 3 opened at 8pm Thursday and did a collected $160.8 Million. 2006 had X-Men: The Last Stand at $122 for the four day, and in 2005 Revenge of the Sith did $50 its first day and had a weekend total of $158 (though that opened the week before Memorial weekend).

Indy is looking to have done $24 million its first day (with 12:01 shows), which is good, not great. Audiences weren’t as desperate to get out to see it as they might have been RotS for reasons of completion/getting it the fuck over with. Business shoudl pick up today, and hold steady for the next couple, though I doubt it’s going to break any records. The other news is that I don’t think Caspian will get a great Memorial Day bounce, though Iron Man might – and could finish the four day around $260.

But Indy? I’m going to say $155 for the five day. And that’s really all that matters, doesn’t it? See you guys Monday.